Preschool

First Day of Preschool!

Hannah started attending Thursday school in September.  It meets for just two hours a week at East Park Christian Church in Danville.  This is a free program, so I thought we'd give it a try!  She's enjoying it, and I'm enjoying running errands with only one child, even if it is currently my more active child!

In addition to this, Hannah and I were very intentional in reading at home last year.  I got a list of over 225 stories to read to your preschooler, and we just finished that list!  Daddy got to do her Bible time with her too almost every night.  I plan to start working on a new list soon and also to be more intentional about teaching Hannah to write.  She has known all of her letters, colors, numbers, and shapes for some time now, but reinforcing them and teaching her to write better is definitely on our agenda for 2013!

Recipes

About this time 3 years ago, my college girlfriends and I exchanged some favorite recipes and we decided it was time again, so here goes.  These are 3 of my favorite recipes that I don't think I've shared before:

Potato Soup

Ingredients: 6 Cups Chicken Broth, 6 Cups Potatoes Pealed and Cubed, 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper, 8 oz. Cream Cheese (chunked, room temp)
Optional Toppings: Crumbled Bacon, Green Onions, Cheddar Cheese

Combine broth, potatoes, and spices in large pot.  Boil until potatoes are tender.  Smash a few to release starch for thickening.  Reduce to low heat.  Add cream cheese.  Stir until cheese melts.


Mexican Chicken Lasagna

Ingredients: 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves (chopped), 8 oz. cream cheese, 2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese, 1 medium onion (chopped), 28 oz. enchilada sauce, 12 6" corn tortillas, 3 cups cooked chicken (diced or shredded)

Place cream cheese in bowl and microwave on high 30-45 seconds until very soft.  Add cilantro and 1 1/2 cups of MJ Cheese.  Mix well.  Spread 2/3 cup of enchilada sauce over bottom of a 9x13 or Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce into mixing bowl and set aside.  Using tongs, dip four tortillas into enchilada sauce in mixing bowl and arrange over sauce in baker.  Scoop 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture over tortillas and spread.  Top with 1 cups of chicken of 1/3 of the onion.  Repeat layers one time.  Dip the remaining four tortillas into the sauce and arrange over the second layer.  Top with remaining chicken and onion.  Pour remaining enchilada sauce over lasagna and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup MJ cheese.  Microwave, covered, on high 12-15 minutes or until center is hot.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Sprinkle with additional cilantro.  Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, etc.

Fajitas

Ingredients: 1 each-Red, Yellow, and Orange Bell Pepper, 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2 tsp. vegetable oil, 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup salsa, flour tortillas
Optional: Guacamole, Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Salsa

Cut bell peppers into 1/2" strips.  Cut chicken crosswise into thin strips.  Heat over medium high heat.  Ad 1 teaspoon of the oil and chicken.  Stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Add remaining oil, bell peppers and stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until vegetalbes are crisp-tender.  Add soup mix, water and salsa to bell pepper/chicken mixture.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until heated through.  To serve, place chicken mixture in center of tortillas.  Serve with toppings, if desired.  

2012 Date Nights

One of our goals for 2012 was to go on a monthly date night.  Since I think we went on about 2 dates in 2011, I thought a goal of 12 for 2012 was pretty good!  Here's what we did:

• We ate at Sonic Drive-In so we could make our movie in time.  We saw Moneyball (good movie!)
• We went out with friends (but without kids).  Does that count?  Our small group went to a trivia night in Danville.  It was so much fun our small group ended up hosting our own trivia night at church!
• We ate at Dos Reales (my favorite) and went to Winter Jam, a huge Christian concert at Assembly Hall.
• We went on our first weekend getaway since we had kids.  We went to Chicago and did all sorts of fun things!!!  
• We went to Dos Reales with the Strungas and "Aldermans" (not married yet :).  
• We went to Timpone's for our anniversary (yummy!)
• We went out to eat and to a Colts' Game in Indianapolis!
• We went to the Flat Top Grill and went shopping.  
• We went to the Nail/Shank wedding and reception without kids!
• Our year end was somewhat disastrous.  We used all of our babysitting time in October, November, and December to go to funeral homes and doctor's appointments.  Boo!

Looking back over the year, I'm proud of how many times we were alone.  And I'm not sure I got them all.  But we had lots of fun!!!